When Kai tumbled out of bed that morning, it was through yawns and wishing for more sleep. But he couldn't do that. Because he had to get up because Erza would be up soon and if he didn't get up, then she's just go ahead and make herself breakfast with, fine, wasn't that big of a deal, but Ravan would think it was a big deal, considering he told Kai to take care of the woman while he was gone and, well…
Bleh, he wished he could just go back to bed.
Tossing on a pair of shorts, he was careful not to trip over the stuff strewn across the floor (Erza was too tired, most days, to do daily inspections anymore) and headed to the kitchen to get started. Without Marin to remind him yesterday, he'd neglected to go to the market and that sucked because they were out of eggs, which meant they had to eat gross oats. Yuck. He was lamenting this fact as he went to find out what was taking Erza so long to get to the table.
"Erza? Are you up?" He knocked at her bedroom door. "Are you okay? Erza? Did something happen? Should I come in? You have to tell me first because, well, you know, and- I'm just gonna come in!"
He did so with panic coursing throughout his body, but a hand still thrown over his eyes. Not that it did much considering he was peeking through his fingers anyways. It mattered even less once he realized that, hey, she wasn't in there.
"Erza?" After flipping on the light, just to be sure, he turned around to head back out of her bedroom with a frown. "Where are you?"
Kai was had all sorts of horrible ideas running through his mind then. What if, like, someone snuck in and stole the woman? Kidnapped her? Were holding her for ransom? What if she'd, like, slept walk out of the house and was lost now? Fell into a creek? Drown? In a creek? Because she was sleeping and didn't wake up to realize her face was in the water? What if extraterrestrials came down and were, like, probing her or something else super gross, because if you could only probe one person, in the entirety of Earthland, to learn the secrets of humanity, wouldn't Erza be the one they picked?
"Ravan's gonna kill me," he whispered to himself because that was very true.
Having no idea what to do, after rushing through a house check and throwing on some clothes, Kai ran as fast as he could to the guildhall. The sun hadn't come up yet, but that just meant that Marin could be completely alone, for a little while at least, in the hall. How she liked it. She was keying into the place when she heard the quick footsteps echoing down the mostly empty street and, fear threading through her, she fumbled a bit, dropping the keys, and great.
Just great.
Haven would never let her live it down if this is how she died.
Oh, wait…
"Marin!"
"Kai?" The breath she let out was massive and visible in the cool air of the early morning. "What-"
"Erza's missing."
"Missing?"
"Yeah," he panted, out of breath. Leaning over, he felt like he might throw up. Noting this, Marin took a few steps back, but Kai only shook his head as he informed the ground as well, "She's, just gone."
"But that doesn't make any sense."
"I know that."
"Then-"
"I know that you're mad at me and you hate me because I'm annoying and stupid, but you have to help me, Marin, because-"
"I never called you stupid." It just went without saying. "Ever."
He just shook his head though, not raising it to look into her eyes. "It doesn't matter. Erza-"
"It does matter." Maybe not in that moment, but overall, certainly. "Kai, I just… I love you."
"Thanks," he gasped as, oh, no, yeah, he was gonna vomit soon. "But, uh-"
"And I'm sorry if it hurt your feelings that I called you annoying. I shouldn't have done that. You're not."
He was. He knew he was. But he still could only nod.
"But I'm not… I like spending all day at the guildhall. Around our guild members. Serving them. It's the only thing that I really feel a strong passion about. I know that's lame, but… I was thinking that… Haven always wanted to be like our dad, so much, but our mom does a lot to. She holds the guild together so much more than he does. I don't think that Magnolia is lame or that guild members are all drunks or-"
"Marin." He finally took in a deep breath, getting just enough air in his lungs to force himself back to standing straight. "We can hash it all out later, okay? I love you too. But Erza-"
"I'll find her for you." She reached out then, to hug him tightly, but quickly, before rushing off, at full speed. "I'll pick up her scent somewhere and lead you right back to her."
"But do you have to run?" he groaned as, unfortunately, the answer seemed to be yes. Turning to chase after her, he knew that at some point, that day, he was certainly going to be puking.
Marin picked up the scent of the woman easily and, as she followed it right back to the Scarlet household, Kai tried to insist that she was just following it in the reverse, but Marin seemed certain and, as they walked through the front door, it was to find a scowling Erza awaiting them.
"How-" Kai started, but Erza merely rose from the couch to address them.
"You let," she told him harshly, "a saucer of oats burning on the stove top, Kai. Where have you been?"
Crap. In his panic, he'd forgotten all about that.
"Me? Where have you been?" he challenged instead of accept his punishment. "I was looking for you. I was terrified, Erza. I thought you were getting probed!"
"You thought what?" Marin whispered softly with a frown, but the red haired woman merely huffed.
"I went," she told both teens with a glare, "training. I did not know it would cause such a fuss. Or my house potentially to be burned to the ground."
'Training?" Kai was the one annoyed then. "Erza, what did you do? Huh? And why didn't you tell me first? I'dda gone with you."
"You have never been able to keep up with me."
Even coming back from her massive injury, this no doubt still held true.
"What did you do?" Marin questioned then, softly. "Go for a run?"
Nodding, Erza said, "A short one. Then I walked about for a bit. I have been up and gone for hours, Kai."
"Hours?" He groaned then, eyes falling to the ground. "Why didn't you tell me? Have you been doing this? I don't think you're well enough, Erza. You should at least wait for Ravan to get back. He'll help you out, working out and all. And then-"
"I have returned, unscathed. Not much I can say for my poor stove-"
"I'm sorry, Erza. I panicked." He rubbed at his head then, glancing up at the woman. "I got real worried when I couldn't find you. You really shouldda said something to me."
"I am not the child, Kai. I do not answer to you." Still, coming over, she patted him on the head. "As two adults, however, sharing a household and as reliant as we both are on one another, it was wrong of me to not key you in to my plans. I apologize. I assumed I would return home before you arose. Worry over your brother and Marin's sister has merely caused me-"
"You think they're getting married too, huh?" That brought back his mood to normal levels as Kai snickered at the thought. When he saw the glares of the two women in his life, he said, "Well, maybe they're not, fine, but wouldn't it be great if they were? For the rest of us?"
Marin made something of a complaint, maybe, with a slight noise, but Erza just outright shot the idea down.
"It would be madness and I would not approve." Removing her hand from him then, she turned to walk off, a bit of a limp still noticeable. In the morning, when this would all catch back up to her, this would be far worse. But the woman was ready for pain. Real pain. The pain of getting herself back into fighting shape. It was something to look forward to, not run away from. "So please cease putting the idea into the universe, Kai."
But he glanced then, to his side, at Marin, and she smiled at him, just a bit. But not for long.
"I have to get to work."
He nodded some, not sure what else to say, and Marin seemed a bit at a loss as well. She'd only just left the house when Erza, having stopped in the doorway for a moment, glanced over her shoulder.
"Go be with your friend, Kai."
"Huh?"
"You heard me."
"But I have to make-"
"I can care for myself. You and Marin have fought long enough. I do not wish to hear about it happening again. Now go."
He took a long few glances at the woman before smiling.
"Thanks, Erza."
There was something of a grunt in kind or perhaps she was groaning out of pain, but regardless, Kai took off again, only having to run a bit this time to catch back up with Marin and when he did, the pain in his side ceased and vomit was far from his mind.
"Kai," she complained, just a bit though she still took his hand as they walked on, "there's nothing even for you to do right now, up at the hall. I was just going to go in early and do stock. You've already got the gardens all set and you've been watering them in the evening and I don't think there's a lot to do, today, as far as opening goes-"
"I just want to hang out with you, Marin." His teeth still showed, when he grinned as wide as he took to in those moments, but when it fell, he added, "Unless you wanna be alone-"
"No." She took a deep breath. "But you have to understand how important the guild is to me, Kai. Just like how I understand how important your relationship and fishing and Erza and all of your other things that you care about are to...you. Okay?" When he nodded, she looked off, watching the first peek of sunlight in the distance. "And...I don't like hanging out with you and Lance."
"What? Marin-"
"He doesn't like me and I don't really like him and you trying to force us to isn't going to work." She felt kind of like Haven then. In control of things. Just laying them out like that. Powerful, even, maybe a bit. But she had the pride of Erza on her side now and, well, that relieved a lot of the weights on her shoulders. "I'm not saying I don't like you guys together. I do. You like him and that's okay. That's fine. It's...great. You guys are great. And I don't care when he's around, but I'm not going to skip out on a shift at work, just to hang around you guys."
"I'll talk to him. About it." Kai sounded serious then, for once. He'd had a very confusing morning and this was doing nothing to help get him back on balance. "I'll tell him that you and him should-"
"Kai, no, you don't understand."
This was typically the case.
"I'm saying… Everything that we do… Doesn't' have to be together. If you want to be around the hall less now, especially since I think Erza's getting so much better then… You should. But I want to be there. Taking care of the guild is what I want. I think it's what I've always wanted." She smiled in the early dawn. "It's where I belong."
When she felt Kai's hand fall from hers, Marin came to an immediate stop, the smile fading as she turned to face him. His name was on her lips, but before any sound escaped, he was the one moving to hug her then, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, as he spoke.
"Sometimes," he told her softly, "I just wish things were how they were before."
She knew he meant more than just between the two of them and only patted at his back as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"I don't."
After he released her though, Marin grinned again as she told him, "But you kind of, well, are all sweaty."
"I ran like the wind, Marin. You should have seen."
"I did hear," she offered with a giggle and, as he followed along, planning on spending some time in the bath house that morning, things felt settled between them. Steady.
As close to perfect as they got in those days.
Her father wasn't feeling too right that day, honestly, given he and the demon were on the outs. This usually spelled trouble for those who had the misfortune of being around the guildhall and Laxus planned on making some people's life a living hell that day. Honest, he was. But when he arrived, a bit later than planned, Marin was rushing right over to him. But it was back at the bar, where she saw Kai sitting around, previously having been conversing with the girl, that caught the slayer's eyes.
"Are you ready for your mail for the day?" his daughter asked as he sat down at his table with a frown. "Or do you want something to eat first?"
Instead of answering, he found himself questioning instead. "You talkin' to Kai again?"
"W-Well-"
Growling then, her father glanced about the hall instead. "You seen Bickslow around?"
"Not today," she told him with a bow of her head. "Dad, if you don't want anything, I really need to get back to-"
"Go," he grumbled. "But bring me a beer. And something to eat. And the mail."
She nodded, with that uneasy grin of hers, and Laxus didn't like making Marin uncomfortable. She was his baby. But he'd just been so stressed recently. That was all. Haven coming back and disappearing with Ravan had done little to relieve this.
Laxus was two beers deep and hardly at midday when Gajeel came in. He, like most the others in the hall, could immediately pick up on the Master's downcast mood and was planning on snagging a job and getting out of there. But while he was perusing them, while also grumbling at Natsu, who was doing the same, they might have gotten into a bit of a scuffle, which delayed him even further.
It was for the best. It was during that moment that his son returned, from a short job of his own. Abandoning the near beat down he was about to put on the other slayer, he turned instead to go speak with Locke and see if he wanted to head back out again, with his old man and Pantherlily.
But someone else got to him first.
"Locke," was the first thing Laxus had grumbled in over an hour. Just the sound of it made the man in question's blood run icily.
"Uh, Master?" he addressed the man, coming over to his table. Freed was sitting with Laxus then, going through paperwork, and even seemed a bit surprise to hear him summon the Redfox boy over. But Laxus didn't look at him. Only Locke.
"You just finish another job?" the older man questioned.
"Y-Yeah. Yes. Yes, I did, Master." Locke was completely lost on why the man was questioning this and more than a bit concerned. "Did you…get a letter from the town? Or something? Did I forget-"
"Come speak with me in my office." He rose then, Laxus did, leaving his mug behind. To Freed, he merely said, "Have Marin refill that."
Gajeel, stopped where he stood then, only glared after his son.
"What'd your boy do?" Natsu snickered, just from the sight, not giving up at getting a fight out of the other man. Lucy wasn't around (who in their right mind would be when Laxus was in such a mood) which meant there was no one around to put an end to it! Other than, like, Laxus, who would probably have slammed their heads together and taken all his anger off on the pair of them, but now with him off presumably doing that to poor Locke… "Anyways, come on! I'll fight ya for that job!"
But Gajeel could only snort and wouldn't even look at the other man again. He'd finally gotten Locke at least somewhat better after the last Dreyar ordeal; he did not want Laxus dragging up another one.
Locke had never really liked the man's office. At all. Even when he was a kid, it wasn't somewhere nice to be sent. Even if it was just under the request of the Master's wife, to fetch something, it always felt dark and kind of, well, unwelcoming. Now it held the bitter memory of Haven fleeing from it, all those years ago, after the ill-fated Incidio trip, and he really wished he'd not come to the hall at hall that day.
"Sit down," Laxus grumbled to him, nodding to the chair on the other side of his desk while the man, after settling into his own, only began to root around in one of his drawers. When he retrieved a cigar, he studied Locke for a moment before cutting it. "You smoke?"
"No." He shook his head heavily, tangled mass of dark hair wagging all about. "I don't."
"Good. Fuckin' gross," Laxus told him as he lit up. He took a deep inhale too, before asking, "You know where my daughter went?"
So he wasn't in trouble.
Still, frowning, Locke looked off. "Nope."
"I'm serious, Locke."
"So am I." Eyes drifting back to the man, he said, "She told me she was gonna stay, then ran off in the middle of the night with Ravan. I dunno where she went."
"No clue at all."
He shrugged. "I don't care either."
Laxus laughed, but it was dry, and might have just been him choking his own inhale. Still, plucking the cigar from his mouth, he watched the dark smoke as it drifted around the room for a moment, dissipating out the open window.
Then, to Locke once more, he said, "I wasn't gonna say anything to you about it. I wouldn't have. But I know how she fucks with your head for some stupid reason and, well, I'd feel a bit guilty, I guess, if she messed this up for you. Again."
"W-What are you talking about? Master?"
"I don't fuckin' hate ya, Locke. Not as much as I hate other damn thing in this guild, at least. I hate your fucking father though, if he asks."
He wouldn't.
He knew.
"But," Laxus went on after another puff of his cigar, "I do respect it. Your approach. What you bring to the table. It ain't just powerhouses that make it, you know. To the pinnicle. There's other things. I expect you'll get your ass kicked, anyways. Come back home with your tail between your legs. But you've at least earned the right to prove that."
"M-Master-"
"You ain't stupid, boy. You're not even a boy." Their eyes locked then, as Laxus warned, "Nothin's set in stone in this guild though. Understand? Plenty of time between now and when I announce S-Class. This conversation, it don't leave this room. Understand? I just felt like you might run off, with all of Haven's stupid shit. This is why you shouldn't. This is what's important to you. Isn't it? Fairy Tail? It never was to her. She shit on it every chance she got. But you're loyal, aren't you?"
"Y-Yes, Master. I am. I-"
"Don't make me regret my decisions, Locke. I never forget someone who does that." He looked back at the smoke then, as he blew some more smoke. After a moment though, he only snapped, "Fuck off already. Damn. I'm done with ya."
Stumbling to his feet, Locke bowed to the man and stuttered out some thanks, but Laxus was done with him then and looked about ready to grumble, so he turned quickly and rushed right from the room. As he shut the door behind him, Laxus' face lost some of the tension and, removing his cigar from his mouth, he just stared at the chair the man now vacated and sighed some.
"Fuckin' kids," he decided, but the feeling was gone and he didn't feel so angry anymore; just empty.
Locke felt anything but though, as he rushed back to the bar area. The Master's warnings however rang in his head and as he was hounded by both his father and Pantherlily for answers, Locke refused to give anything up. Just went to go select a new job off the board. Soon enough, he was certain, it would be another board entirely that he was perusing.
What could his father say then? Huh? When he was ranked above him? When his medical magic proved just as valuable as any strength and power he liked to lord over him? He never knew how much crow he wanted his father to eat until that exact moment, but oh, it was an endless buffet.
"So I guess the Master didn't get word Haven and Ravan got married and broke the news to him gently," Kai mused over at the bar as Marin only groaned, wiping it down while sending a glare his way.
"I thought Erza told you to stop saying that? And if someone else hears you-"
"Maybe he's just really excited that, you know, he doesn't have to worry about Haven anymore. Ravan and her'll probably move away, you know, live together, and-"
"Kai, be quiet," she groaned, but she was grinning at him and he snickered and it felt so good that day.
All of it.
When she got off, Ajax was hanging around with the twins, and she and Kai hung out with them some, in the park, mostly watching the boys show off their new developments in magic, but also just relaxing some. Everything always felt tense, when Haven first left, but it truly felt like that was all dissipating finally. Things were falling back into place. Not just in the guild overall, which seemed to not be displaced by the girl at all, but in their inner circle also.
"I bet she's on some super cool job," Ajax yawned that night as he crashed over at his aunt and uncle's place, sleeping in Haven's (Kai's) bed. "And maybe she won't come back, right away, but Ravan will, and he doesn't like me too much, I don't think, but you can ask him all about it, won't you, Marin? And tell me about it?"
"Yeah, of course, 'jax," she whispered though, in her bed, she only faced the wall. "I bet they are too."
"Haven's so cool," he laughed, mostly to himself, before whispering, "Sometimes I think about..."
"About what?"
"About… If Haven had your lacrima. How much stronger she'd be. Could you imagine it? Maybe then she'd have stuck around, since all the best slayers are here, in our guild. Do you think about that, Marin? If she had your lacrima?"
"Go to sleep, Ajax." She didn't even yawn or sound too tired then, but still insisted to him, "I have to get up early in the morning for work."
He only laid on his back though, staring up at the ceiling and counting the cracks. It was better anyways, he remembered, as Haven always told him. To gain your power on your own. Haven was better than Marin, who had the lacrima, through her own blood, sweat, and tears.
But still. Sometimes he thought about it.
She didn't any longer though. Haven. Dragon Slaying lacrimas were long in her past. Something greater waited for her, at the end of the gauntlet, and she could almost taste it.
"We're lost," Haven griped as she and Ravan took a break one day in the middle of the woods, him smoking and looking over some papers of some sort. Haven had a map that completely captured her focus. "We're fucking lost. Are you even listening?"
What good was it to do so? When she wouldn't even let him so much as glance at the map? Still, they were in a relatively good place, those past few days, and Ravan was actually feeling pretty good that day. Sometimes the scar down his side ached, from where he inserted his lacrima. Especially in rainy weather, which they were having then. But nothing could hurt him that day, it felt like, and if they could just hurry up and get there, to the next monster, he felt like things would only improve further.
"What are you reading?" Haven complained, finally, standing as she took to folding up the map once more. "Ravan?"
But instead of answering, he just held it out to her when she marched over to the rock he was perched on, snatching it some in her annoyance.
"What is this?"
Stubbing out his cigarette as he rose to his feet, he said, "Navi's book."
"What?"
"She sent Marin a rough draft once. Marin read it and when I asked for it, she gave it to me."
"Why?"
"Marin does whatever I ask."
"Why," Haven corrected as she shoved the collection of papers back at him, "did you ask for them?"
"Why not?"
They both stared at one another then, as if in some sort of challenge, but Haven broke first, huffing as he took to tugging his bandanna up around his jaw once more.
"I think I know how we got off track," she said as he went to replace the papers back with the collection of no doubt countless others in his bag. "And I think we're close. Well, I think we'll make it there soon, anyways. If you're all done reading..."
She left room for him to snap back at her, argue. Something. Haven lived for battle and would settle for verbal in absence of another, but he offered no chance at it then. Ravan could feel it though, he had since the second monster's defeat; he had his friend back. Haven had been weary before, and all stuck up on Locke (which she always seemed to be, honestly), but the longer they were away, the more her reserve was wearing off. If her declaration of revenge meant anything, it was that the real Haven, the one he wanted back, the one that went away when she was missing home and her boyfriend and safety, was still there. Just buried a bit was all.
But the Monster Gauntlet was dragging the competitive, asshole right back out into the open. He could tell time had changed her, but it had mostly just covered up the real her. Maybe Locke and her family were into that idea, but Ravan never wanted Haven to be different. Never thought that the one that stormed out of Magnolia needed to grow or become a better person. Never wanted her to be. Didn't think he'd like her any better that way.
She didn't need to change. She was fine the way she was. She was his best friend, the way she was before. Aggression and apathy were massive parts of what bound them together. This is who he wanted to travel around with. Who he was willing to follow on a vendetta mission. The real Haven. Ravan didn't want anything less.
By the time they finished the gauntlet, he knew she'd be whole again.
And he couldn't wait.
It was the third beast in the lineup that they were set to face next and as they enchanted the pedestal, it glowed a soft green light, giving a bit of ambiance to the overcast day. Both had an air of confidence this time around, given they'd both slayed one previously, but this was misplaced. What was summoned before them was far more powerful than the previous two and it was rather easy for them to get in over their heads quickly.
The monster before them was more traditional than the last. Towering over them, the beast was a fuzzy beast, covered head to toe in bright blue fur, with dark red eyes to match its snarled teeth. It felt much more like a typical monster, honestly, that yeah, maybe Haven and Ravan did underestimate it some.
Him and his armor and her with sparks bouncing from her body, their feeling of invincibility was raised some and when Ravan summoned a simple, familiar to Haven, sword from his arsenal, it really felt like some dumb monster plaguing some weak village taken from a job no one wanted up at the hall.
But this was far from the case.
The beast turned its head towards Ravan and, for just one moment, locked eyes with him. Haven wasn't even sure what happened, honestly. She barely had time to take note of what had happened before, right where Ravan stood, there was just...fire. Not shot from the beast, but rather summoned, it seemed, right beneath the man's feet, tall, bright orange blue flames engulfed where he'd been only moments before.
"Ravan." His name was a whisper on her lips as, through the flames, she couldn't even place him. As seconds ticked by and he didn't emerge, she knew something wasn't right. Her own eyes falling to beast, she felt fear pool in her stomach.
"Don't look him in the eyes!"
That was Ravan's voice, but it came from behind her and, when Haven glanced over her shoulder, she saw him then, not standing in the center of the flames, but rather perched on the branch of a tree that surrounded the clearing. The visor of his helmet was flipped down now though.
"How- Did you fucking teleport?"
"Pay attention," he yelled at her as, suddenly, Haven could feel the gaze of the monster turn towards her then. "And don't look him in the eyes!"
But of course, this felt like an impossible feat now, given it was a single command, and when she turned back to look at the beast, of course it occurred.
In a flash though, before the flames even had a chance to lick the soles of her boots, she darted away with a crack of lightning, depositing herself further back, close to the treeline and Ravan.
"I just need," he told her simply, "to get a few good hacks in. Slice him up."
Yeah, right. The monster was turning all about then, trying to place her, giving her a good chance to size him up once more. One swift uppercut to the jaw from the Thunder God's heir apparent and that would be the end of things. Ravan could tell from her silence just what she was thinking and, yeah, well, only if he didn't get his slices in first.
With a barrier between their eyes now, the beast seemed completely uninterested in Ravan and instead zeroed in on Haven easily. Rushing towards her the second it found her, the beast barred its sharp fangs and Haven focused on the gnashing of the teeth rather than the shiny ruby orbs that beckoned her sapphire.
As she was forced on the defensive, rushing around the large clearing, dodging slashes of claws and insistent gazes, Ravan merely stayed in his perch, observant and silent. Any lightning strike Haven hit the monster with seemed to have little affect and he knew she wasn't sending too strong of blasts its way, in an attempt to conserve her power, he also knew she was also struggling to get a good feel for her aim. Any time she turned to face the beast, it was jerking its head around, trying to force eye contact and Haven seemed to be battling against this with such difficulty that Ravan wondered if there was some sort of spell causing an unwitting desire.
"Haven!" He jumped back down, into the clearing once more, and in the hand not gripping the hilt of his sword, he held out his red bandanna. "Wrap this around your eyes."
"Are you stupid?" She was across the clearing then, having to jump out of the way of a swiping claw. "Then I can't see."
"What good is seeing doing you right now?"
"Uh, it keeps me from running into things. Moron."
"You're not going to be able to fight as long as you're tempted to look at him," Ravan warned as the beast turned it's head around then, to stare him down. From behind his visor, Ravan looked on with no fear. Holding his sword out with hand, he held the bandanna up with the other. "Last chance."
It shocked him a bit, in both senses of the word, as suddenly she zipped passed him, from where she was before, just a quick flicker of zigzagging electricity. As he closed his now empty fist, he leveled his blade towards the beast as it turned fully, noting Haven's evasion, and faced the pair of them head on once more.
"This is so," Ravan heard her complain from behind him as she tied the cloth around her eyes, "fucking gross."
"It's not like I drool into the damn thing."
"Might as well."
Ugh.
"Erza sent me away once, do you remember? For a month or two? To go train with one of her friends? Kagura."
"Yeah, I think I remember you getting a hard on you got for an old woman that one summer."
"She's not old. And shut up!" God. Still eyeing the beast from behind his shade, Ravan said, "She used to make me spar, like Erza, but blindfolded. She if you have to see your opponent to win a match, you haven't really won it."
"What?" Haven was in something of a fight stance then, but still jerking her head all about, as if trying to place where the monster was. Nowhere new though. Just on the other side of the clearing. It seemed, without irises to track, at a loss as well. "That doesn't make any-"
"She told me that you should be able to hear them. Each footsteps, every breath. Feel them. Each one. When they're close and when they're far. You have to be in tune to them and only them."
"Then...you can fucking fight with out seeing? Anything? At all?" she asked then, more annoyed by the statement than curious.
"Fuck no. It's why she kicked me back to Erza's early."
"Sure it wasn't because you had a massive hard on for-"
"I can't fight blindfolded," he said as, finally, the beast lowered its head and started to run towards them. "But you better know how to. Or learn fast."
His thundering gallop towards them was easy enough to feel and Ravan thrust forwards, with all his might, as the beast passed by. Haven fell to the ground, covering her head, fearful over being trampled. This didn't occur though and, as Ravan only glanced behind himself, to see just how badly he'd gotten the monster, he was pleased to see his blade had slashed a long, horizontal wound into one of his arms.
"He's not impervious," he muttered to himself as he reached down blindly to grab Haven by the collar and pull her back to his feet.
"What?" she complained, shoving blindly at him in retaliation. "Ravan-"
"I cut him. I- Shit."
"What?" And she was moving then, to lift up her blindfold, just a bit.
The beast had it's head thrown back then, but wasn't howling in pain. No, the cry it was making sounded far different. And, from the wound it was sporting, rather than pouring thick droplets of blood, blew flames jumped from the open wound, allowing them to imagine just what the monster was made up of.
Haven had never wished for Navi more.
As she was staring though, the beast dropped its head without warning and, with little effort, Haven's eyes were locked with his.
"Damn it, Haven," Ravan growled as he jumped out of the way and she had to zigzag, once more, across the clearing, both just narrowly missing the flames. "Would you keep that thing on?"
"Alright, damn," she tugged the bandanna snug around her eyes once more. "Do you have a plan?"
"Do you?"
Never. Gripping her fists tightly, she decided not to curse the darkness and instead focus on everything else. She'd only been seeing out of one eye for a good few months anyways. What was losing the other one? Darkness. That's what it was. But she just had to get passed that. She just had to focus.
"Can you cut him up more?"
"And release more fire?"
"If you get a big enough opening," she insisted as she turned all about, trying to pick up on where the beast had gotten off to, "and exposed all the flames inside… Just do it, Ravan."
He summoned a second blade as Haven sunk down some, apprehensive and defensive as she clearly was struggling with the no sight thing.
"The left," he finally grumbled to her as he took off, in a sprint, at the beast. The sight of this reignited the monster who let out another snarl before rushing at him as well. Ravan got slashed by beast, over his chest, tearing at his hoodie and shirt beneath, all to dig at his flesh, opposite his Fairy Tail emblem. With a sucking in of breath, he was glad to find the monster in a similar state, some feet from him then, a gaping wound pulsating blue flames across his chest.
"Ravan-"
"I'm alright."
"That's not what I'm asking."
He glared over at her before complaining, "He's in front of you."
But it wasn't focused on Haven. Aggravated by the man's attack, this time when it rushed at him, it wasn't to slash, but rather to grab at him. It only came up with air though as, rather than teleporting, like Haven had surmised, his lacrima had gifted him something close to phase magic, but perhaps a bit more powerful. It was far closer to some sort of invisibility spell or cloak.
The act ate the fuck out of his magic though.
As the beast stared at his empty hand, confused as to how he came up with air while the man he'd been pawing at also was no longer visible, Ravan squatted down as low as he could get before springing up, with all his force and might, holding both swords out as, dropping his invisibility, the blades were drawn roughly up into the body of the beast.
Fucking hell did it hurt his arms though. And he didn't jump that high, honestly, but as blue flame greeted him, Ravan merely withdrew a sword before slashing, wildly, into the belly, the heat burning his face before, with a loud roar, he was shoved away, going flying across the clearing from the force, but as he tumbled to the ground, he only called out to the blonde.
"Haven!"
She could hear it, the ragged breaths the monster was taking, feel the heat spewing from its assortment of cuts. It was time to put that fire out.
There was no spell that Ravan heard. As he sat up, he only watched her hold a hand up, summoning lightning like she typically might, but much more than usual. The already dark skies darkened much more and, as thunder boomed and there was a crack across the sky, into Haven's up stretched palm. As it struck hr hand though, the black clouds seemed to open up and the downpour began, the pouring rain drenching them all.
Before all the cuts and slices, the beast would have been little more than a disgusting mass of wet, matted fur, but now the water had more to run into than just tangled hairs. Instead, it spilled into the wounds Ravan had left littering its body, and Haven couldn't see it, but she could feel it, as the fabric over her eyes got heavy with water and her hair stuck to her face, the beast approaching her then, rushing towards her, but she held her ground, to be sure the storm didn't dissipate as lightning continued to jump from the sky into her body. As the water became too heavy for the bandanna, it began to droop and fall down her face, and Haven just knew what would be awaiting her.
The ruby orbs to force open her blues, but when she opened them, there was nothing before her other than a blinding rain storm and the surrounding thick forest. Eyes falling lower, she saw the furry heap of waterlogged mess that laid before her, the fire extinguished and its life force depleted.
Laughing, it was almost in shock as her arm fell from the sky, electricity still free flowing from it, and as the rain cleared, she felt Ravan at her side.
"Since when," he asked softly as he pulled his helmet off, dropping into to the now muddy ground, "can you summon rain?"
"I can't," she answered honestly as the pair only blinked at one another. "It was already in the air, the rain. Whatever. I just conjugated it. Brought it all together. Since when can you teleport?"
"I can't." He was just as honest as he looked away from her, down at the ground, watching the mass of gross hair dissipate slowly, back into nothingness, leaving a token in its wake. "My lacrima… You were right; I got more than just some more magical-"
"You're hurt."
He glanced down at the three long scratches down his chest before shrugging some, looking over her as well. "You're not?"
But Haven was moving then, closer to him, and as Ravan stiffened as this, she had no abandon in ghosting a hand over his chest, eyes locked on the bits of flesh that showed that weren't deep scratches.
"Your scarring goes all down your chest?"
"My body really fucking hated the lacrima, I guess."
They were eyeing one another, for a good beat, before she moved away first, to go collect their token. Glancing over the time on it, she flashed it to him before saying, "We need to get your wounds cleaned. Really clean them out. Somewhere that's not so filthy. We'll stay in a hotel room tonight. Closest town. Then we'll head out in the morning."
But he felt as if he'd said more than enough for the day and, just nodding instead of truly answering, Ravan held his hand out, for her to place his bandanna, which hung soaked through, around her neck now, but Haven only placed the token there instead.
"Three down," she told him simply as she went to retrieve her pack. "We're halfway there."
Setting after her, Ravan could merely nod because, yeah, they were.
The inn they stayed in was tiny and Haven was pretty broke, so it was no big deal, anyways, bunking together. They'd done it their entire lives. They'd dried out some, on their walk back to town, but Haven still made him strip out of his shredded hoodie and t-shirt, the second they were alone.
He'd walked with some gauze taped as best they could do, out in the woods, over the wound, but it was still bleeding heavily and Haven knew there was no way he was going to let anyone else look at it. Wouldn't risk it. It was late and they had to be out of there by dawn.
"Did you sew yourself back up?" she asked as she sat there, on her knees, beside him on the bed as the man only stretched out, shirtless a bit concerned, with the idea of her as his medic. "When you cut yourself open? For the lacrima?"
"I tried," he whispered softly and it was weird, to stare up at her in this way. Haven looked a mess still, from their battle, but he liked her that way. It felt more real. As she poured a solution from their supplies over the three slashes, he tried hard not to grimace. "I fucked up. The lacrima didn't take and I wasn't very good at it, I guess. The stitches had popped and I was laying on a heap, in the bathroom, when Kai found me."
"You just a suicidal bastard or what?"
"Untrusting."
She felt that with a nod.
Still, she was certain to add, "I would have never fucking cut myself up and tried to put something into my body like that."
"Not all of us have a stupid boyfriend waiting around for us to come to him with all our medical inquiries."
"Inquiries," she repeated softly and wondered if he knew about her eye or was just really good at reading things. "Did the lacrima give you what you wanted? Ravan?"
"And more."
"What if you'd died?"
He couldn't shrug, given his position, but still let out a soft sigh in response.
"I guess," he whispered after a few moments of thought, "you would have gotten back around, what? Five months after my funeral?"
"What do you mean?"
"I know you went and saw Erza."
"Wasn't a secret."
"Why'd you do it?"
She was dabbing at his chest then, with a towel, getting it and her gloved hands covered in his blood.
"Everyone thinks," she complained softly, abandoning that idea quickly and moving instead to finally start threading the needle as she only motioned for him to hold the towel over his own wounds then, "that I'm some heartless bitch. I'm not. Erza meant...something to me, I guess. I was in town, so I went to see her. Is it really that big of a deal?"
He only watched as her lip curled a bit, in aggravation, over struggling so much with the thread.
"I don't think you're heartless," he assured her. When Haven glanced down at him, he was quick to add, "I do think you're a bitch, but-"
"Shut the fuck up." She finally got it then, the little thread through the needles little hole, and smiled to herself with accomplishment. "Should you really speak that way to the person who's about to be stabbing little holes in your flesh? Huh?"
"You would to your medic."
And the smile faded before, leaning over him now, she looked him in the eye as she reached to remove his hand and the towel from his wounds.
"Can we not," she asked him, "talk about Locke? For the rest of the time?"
"You're the one that always brings him up."
"Me?"
"You."
"Then I won't," she insisted. "And you don't either. Locke's not here and… Locke's not here."
He nodded some, because that was right.
He wasn't.
But he could feel the true Haven getting closer and closer to being so.
"Lay as still as possible," she whispered softly and her hair was tied back, so it didn't fall down to tickle his face, but he wondered what that would feel like. "I'm not, uh, the best at this."
"You really do good to instill my faith."
"If someone saying something gives you faith, then you're dumber than I thought." Then she paused. "Though I'm probably not gonna give you much to base it off of either." Then, with a shake of her head, she reminded, "Just has to hold long enough for us to finish the gauntlet. After that, you can go to a real doctor and get serious examined. We both can. Until then we get it or we die trying."
"We'll never die," he whispered as she finally moved to press the needle to his flesh. Staring up at the ceiling, he added, "Right?"
"I won't. But I don't go around cutting myself up and taking in foreign objects."
Haven called his blood gross, afterwards, and showered for a long time in the tiny adjoining bathroom. She was thankful for it though, given she'd probably look like some sort of murderer, in a communal one. She thought of this too as she decided they'd burn his clothes and anything else he'd stained through with blood out in the woods, the next time they camped out.
"'cause you'll be less suspicious then," he whispered as she went over to the other cot in the room, sitting on the edge of it as she stared over at him. "Right?"
But Haven wasn't talking to him, it seemed, following her shower. at least not in the moment. He found her gaze strange and was gonna gripe about her going out to get them something to eat when, suddenly, she stood up and came back over to the bed he was stretched out on. Ravan didn't move in the slightest as she sat on her knees beside him once more.
"Tell me," she asked softly, "about your lacrima. All of it. You don't teleport then… Just tell me everything. Please."
But he just shook his head. "I'll show you. All of it. Before this is all done. Just wait. I haven't even gone close to going full out yet."
Haven didn't like his answer, he could tell, but when she reached out, it was to rest a hand over his chest. Not near his wounds though, but rather closer to his side. She could see it then, clearly. The long scar down his side that rested there.
"I felt it. When you were...not teleporting, fine, whatever you were doing. I felt it. Stronger, even, than I do around you normally. The power… I wish I'd taken it for myself."
He felt possessive, for some reason, over the very idea, but didn't move as her thumb ghosted over the scar.
"You gonna cut it out of me or something?" he questioned, but she just kept staring down at him. "Haven?"
"I'm not going to let this one go," she vowed, promised, and even seemed more proprietorial, if it were possible, over something they didn't even posses yet. "Ravan. When we get to the end, if you try and double cross me-"
"I'm not going to. It's yours. All of it. I told you why I'm doing this." And he shoved up then, her hand slipping off his chest as he just hoped his stitches held. Looking her in the eyes, there, in bed, he said, "I want you to be have everything I have, Haven. More if you want it. I'm content. I just… I've been fucking fine without you. And I know you've been better without me. But fuck, don't you feel it? When we're together… I want you to get everything you've ever wanted. I'll help you get it. And then together, we can take whatever else we want. We'll go beat the shit out of those guys and anyone else who ever wronged you. That's fine with me. And then we can double back for anyone I fucking hate. We can do it all."
She smiled back at him, but it seemed off, and when she looked away, his fell some.
"I'm not insane, Haven," he insisted, recalling her words from weeks prior. "Is that not what the guild does? Your father? Erza? They do good things on the side, but everyone looks out for themselves. Exacts revenge. Don't they? They get their magic and we get nothing? Fuck it. Fuck them. I meant it. Your father never wanted us around one another. Why? Because they could all sense it. Everyone. We belong-"
"Just shut," she finally interrupted, "up, Ravan."
Lying back on the bed, he nodded some, happy to, as he finally felt it, after all those years, what her hair felt like when it fell over his face and maybe he was insane, because he never wanted to go back. Ever. To Magnolia. Or anywhere close.
It felt like everything was falling into place and there was nothing missing. His life had never felt so right and, maybe, the gauntlet was just over hyped and soon enough, they could be on their way, together, like it was meant to be. Finally.
Fucking finally.
Ravan felt so right that he forgot, if only for the night, that the majority of his life had always found a way to go wrong. So very wrong.